


the dust of hope

by yuu_liarrs



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Am I?, Angst, Bonds Beyond Time, Judai-centric, M/M, Post Season 4, Post-Bonds Beyond Time, Starshipping, Well - Freeform, anyway, hell yeah, hey guys? i have no idea what im doing, hey someone take this lost kuriboh thank you, i hold up judai, in which judai spaces out a lot, no., should i be starting another fic?, these two are just too good im not sorry, whoops!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2019-09-30 14:07:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17225465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuu_liarrs/pseuds/yuu_liarrs
Summary: "So, Judai," Yusei started, looking at his D-Wheel, "If we do meet again... will I be able to meet the real you?" He asked, bluntly yet hesitantly in a way that was so Yusei. Judai could only blink in response, his smile growing bittersweet. So he'd noticed. Hopefully Yusei never met the real him. Because the real him was a terrible person, had hurt so many. Someone like Yusei didn't deserve to meet someone like Judai. Yusei was hope and Judai was despair."If you're lucky? Never."





	1. his eyes...

**Author's Note:**

> yknow. i kinda just realized i havent watched through ALL of 5DS yet and i really dont know how to write for most of the characters  
> well.  
> We Die Like Men

"You guys are having fun in this duel, despite everything?" Yusei's words rang out in Judai's head. Part of him didn't know how to process that. Fun? Dueling? Those two things hadn't crossed lines in a long time. The black haired teen looked at Atem, who was smiling. That smile was a true smile, nothing like Judai's act. His smile faded for a second but he quickly grinned, throwing a thumbs up in the air. However, he did catch a slightly worried look from the Pharaoh. In a way, the worried look was strange to Judai. After graduating (somehow. with everything going on it was hard. even judai himself was surprised he'd managed to.) he'd practically ran off. He'd even ~~neglected~~  forgotten to say goodbye to everyone. Judai had started to travel, going anywhere he'd really pleased to. No one had chased after him (not that he expected them to. he'd probably be okay if they even hated him... however unlikely that was.) and he didn't know if they still thought about it.   
  
"Dueling is fun, especially with friends," Atem had said, probably alluding to them being all friends. Judai could feel his somewhat lonely (only somewhat. yubel and pharaoh were always there for him.) heart reach out, wanting to be happy and have friends. However, his heart was made out of darkness. He had no place next to these two people who had brought so much hope into the world and vanquished the darkness. (was he forgetting he'd done the same thing before everything went to shit? judai too used to inspire people with hope. his smile used to be the brightest in the room.)   
  
Since when were duels actually fun? Since before the other dimension, or before all the shadow duels the teen had endured... and all the pain and the sorrow? Judai could barely remember having a fun duel at all recently. Of course there was the pair duel with Asuka, however... that didn't last. Directly after that Darkness had attacked and again, he'd thrown his friends directly into danger by merely existing. Part of him wondered if there was a way to go back and stop himself from existing. For all the pain and suffering he'd caused... it would be a fine punishment. All the screams, betrayal... A sharp call of his name brought him out of his thoughts, and the brunette had to throw up another smile--when had he stopped?--and assured Atem and Yusei that he was fine. He wasn't.   
  
Paradox had simply stood there while Judai was contemplating his life's value, it seemed. He stood there, smiling as he watched them waste time. After all, every minute lost was gained for the blonde. Yusei just nodded at the answers, looking down at his duel disk, as if he were pondering something before looking back up at Paradox. His arm shot out to the side, and his stance was confident, voice loud when he started to speak, "Paradox! I will not allow you to destroy and re-write our future!" He'd yelled, eyes sparkling. If Judai looked closely he could see the shine in his eyes, specks of light blue, almost white, that glistened in the light of the Sin World. Despite the almost dreadful situation, his eyes shone...like stars...like... _stardust._

* * *

"So, Judai," Yusei started, looking down lovingly at his D-Wheel, "If we do meet again... will I be able to meet the real you?" He asked, bluntly yet hesitantly in a way that was so  _Yusei._ Judai could only blink in response, his smile growing bittersweet. So he'd noticed. Hopefully... Yusei never met the real him. Because the real him was a terrible person, had hurt so many, and even endangered his friends... frequently. Someone like Yusei didn't deserve to meet someone like Judai. They were kind of opposites, if you thought about it. The synchro duelist told him about many of his duels, and he was a bringer of hope. Even his eyes reflected that. They were deep and full of pain and despair but they also shined with the thought of a tomorrow. Judai, however? He was the bringer of despair. He was the darkness, the thing that caused pain and was better off stowed away.   
  
"If you're lucky? Never." At his reply, Yusei stopped, looking at Judai with a puzzled and somewhat worried expression. Judai stuck his tongue out, laughing. "Just kidding!" He wasn't. "The real me? I'm not sure what you mean! I've always been Judai!" No, he hasn't. The black haired duelist focused his gaze back on the red D-Wheel, mulling over Judai's lies. The brunette felt almost sick, mouth dry. He hated lying to everyone, hated being this happy when on the inside he was anything but. He wasn't sure how Yusei looked past his happy facade. He'd spent so much time perfecting the mask, faking happy. Faking  _Judai._  Then again, who even was Judai? The happy him from all those years ago? Or... the evil him from the other dimension? Haou. Or... was there even a third option? Yusei snapped him out of his thoughts again with a call of his name.  
  
"Are you listening?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
The synchro duelist only sighed in response. "It doesn't matter. Let's get you back to your time," He said, climbing onto the D-Wheel. Judai nodded, settling in behind the taller duelist. It was a tight fit, considering the D-Wheel was only supposed to be for one person and Judai was acutely aware of how Yusei's back was pressed against his front and his own arms around the--actually quite fit-- duelist.  
  
Then again, did Judai even  _want_  to go back to his life? It was sad and glum. Most of the time he would sit and think about everything he'd done wrong and if he could just _please fix it, please let me go back and fix it. let me save them._  No, no. Now wasn't the time to wallow.  Yusei started up the bike and Judai held on tighter. "Hey, Yusei? can you... take me to your time?"


	2. his time...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> judai meets The Crew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is gonna be a train wreck from now on. lets go gays.

'Why'd I even ask that?' Judai's teeth ground together as Yusei stilled. The brunette felt hot embarrassment crawl up his neck. 'What a stupid question, of course he doesn't want me around, he probably doesn't want to deal with me- hell, I don't even want to deal wi-'  
        "Sure."  Yusei's curt and unreadable voice cut through whatever mental spiral he was going to go down. "Wont your friends miss you, though?" Ah. Judai's face darkened and he looked down, internally thanking that the other duelist couldn't see him. Chances are, they'd probably think he was traveling again and they wouldn't even notice. Then again he'd barely even spoken to them. Other than the time he'd accidentally ran into Johan while he was traveling... Johan. Johan was the one he missed the most, and one who he would stay for. ' _Then stay'_ He heard Yubel say from the back of his mind but it wasn't that simple. It never was that simple. Yes, he missed his friends,  _yes_ he'd go back if there were any problems but there were so many doubts plaguing his mind. What if they didn't want him back? Manjoume had made it pretty clear that he was the one who was always dragging him in every problem and putting them in danger. That he'd only dueled for himself. That they'd always be better without him and he should have not even existed anyway everyone's lives would have been so much better it's not like anyone actually needs him what a worthless existen- "Judai." Again, Yusei pulled Judai out of the downward spiral that his thoughts always were. "Are you sure you want to come with? How long do you want to stay?"  Was Yusei... really considering this? The fusion duelist could feel Yubel's worried presence in his mind and felt safe in knowing they'd always be there.  
        "Yeah, I do! And...as long as you'll have me," He said, grinning oh so fakely. "Is the future cool??" He asked, trying to sound like an excited kid as Yusei  kicked off and they started moving. His motions sending an obvious message of 'you'll find out.' Judai, personally, had been on a motorcycle a good time of once before this but he'd also been under some weird shadow magic and barely remembered actually riding it. Another thing, Yusei liked to go  _fast,_ which, Judai loved. They started moving, navigating to a long and empty stretch of road. Judai tightened his arms around Yusei's torso, loving how absolutely free he felt. Like they were untouchable. Soon, they were entering the time stream again, the Crimson Dragon throwing it's head in the air and bellowing as they did. Within a minute, Yusei and Judai were skidding back into Neo Domino.   
        Looking around Judai was bewildered. Everything was so.. dark. They kept driving before arriving at a small place Yusei was staying at. The brunette couldn't stop looking around at everything. Everything was so new and strange. He loved it. Starting a new adventure. Going to new places. Starting over. That's all he was good at. A  _kuriii_ pulled him out of his thoughts as Winged Kuriboh appeared and landed on his shoulder, rubbing against his cheek. He could feel it, yet also not feel it. Smiling at his friend, Judai whispered to him, "Looks like we're not in Kansas anymore, Hane Kuriboh." He was joking, of course. But when he looked over, Yusei looked absolutely fucking  _bewildered._    
        "We... we were never  _in_ Kansas...." Judai couldn't hold back the laughter, actual laughter, doubling over as he laughed. It was such a pure reaction, and he looked so confused. "Judai? Why are you laughing?" He only laughed harder. "Judai?!?" After a minute, the brunette duelist stood up straight, wiping a tear from his eye.   
        "Oh, Yusei. You're such a...  _regular hoot_." The bewildered expressions came back, doubly so.  
        "A... a what now?"  
        "Sorry, sorry! Johan said it once and I'm not gonna let him live it down," Judai joked. ( a/n: yes. he did say it, though in the dub but thats neither here nor there. anyway here u go [www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzx99urRDeY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzx99urRDeY) ) "And the first one was from a movie from my time!" Yusei nodded, despite having no damn clue what the fuck Judai was going on about half of the time. But, it was endearing in a way. Judai always talked with passion and tried to be lively and that's something that Yusei liked about him.   
        "Yusei! Yusei, you're back!" There was a yell, from a girl, probably young. Yusei turned around and Judai watched as his face went from confused to soft.  There were two kids with bright green hair, a girl with red almost magenta hair, a boy with blonde hair, and another boy with orange hair. The kids ran up while the older ones-probably teenagers, as old as Judai or Yusei- walked up. "Yusei and.. who's this? The girl asked again, looking at him with a puzzled expression. The black haired duelist went to open his mouth, however Judai beat him to it.  
        "Judai Yuki, I'm a stowaway from the past," He said, as if it were a joke. It wasnt. Judai just smiled his normal dorky smile and crossed his arms above his head. Yusei sighed.  
        "From the past? Ah," She mused for a second before deciding it was a joke. "I'm Ruka!" She said, her eyes shining with wonder.  
        "I'm Rua! I'm her brother! Do you duel?" His eyes also shone with the same intensity as his sister's. Judai couldn't help but to be jealous. He'd lost that shine, that love for dueling a long while ago. It's not that he hated dueling. He hated what people did to it. Hated how people corrupted it to the point where he was forced to duel for his life on several occasions.   
        He laughed. "Yeah, I do duel," He said, reaching down and gently patting Rua's head when his eyes shone and he'd demanded a duel. "Maybe later, alright?" Then, he focused his attention back on the others.   
        "Crow Hogan!" The orange haired one yelled, and Judai looked him over. He had several, several of those yellow markings over his face. They had to mean something. Either way, he looked Crow up and down and held back a flinch when he threw a hand out for Judai to shake. He returned the handshake and couldn't help but think of a certain blue haired duelist. A fond smile grew on his face as he thought of his first meetings with Johan. Though after a second his hand was back at his side and Aki was getting ready to speak. It was like she was thinking of a good way to say it.  
        "I'm... Aki Izayoi," She said hesitantly, opening her mouth and closing it several times before staring at the ground. "I'm a psychic duelist," Aki said finally, quiet as she waited for Judai to berate her or call her a freak. Though, Judai couldn't do that. Considering he, too, was a psychic duelist. Due to her fear, it was almost like being a physic duelist wasn't so accepted here. He just nodded, smiling. The brunette glanced at his partner on his shoulder before looking at Aki again. She looked so scared.   
        "What's with the long face? I'm also a psychic duelist!" He watched as her mouth opened to form an 'o', and as Yusei also looked confused. As if he didn't see him using both his powers from fusing with Yubel and him summoning Neos in Venice. Judai laughed again, watching as Ruka looked at him almost starstruck.


	3. his friends...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the author tries to skrrt around a duel  
> ( and judai breaks the fourth wall. why would you do this judai. why. )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yALL  
> hi  
> i wanted to get this update out awhile ago but writer's block literally hit me like a brick but  
> it doesnt matter  
> its here now  
> BUT ALSO ?? DO YOU WANNA KNOW HOW MANY DIFFERENT DRAFTS I HAD FOR THIS CHAPTER??  
> five.  
> f i v e.  
> anyway here u go have some Good (its not that good) content 
> 
> oh and also? a lot of people say like yusei isn't really in tune with people's emotions and. thats bs im not sorry. is he out of tune/bad with dealing with his emotions? yeah. is he not good with other's? no !! not at all !! in this essay i will

        Judai blinked. Now he was confused to why Yusei was confused. He looked over at the dark haired duelist. "You... saw me use my power, right? Why are you so confused?" He asked,  holding down a laugh as Yusei crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.  
        "We were in the middle of a crisis, I wasn't thinking about it," He said, gaze falling on Jack, who'd been standing quiet the whole time. "That's Jack Atlas, by the way." Yusei changed the topic, gesturing at the blonde, who looked kind of confused for a second because  _who hasn't heard of Jack "The King" Atlas_???  But, after a second his face went back to stoic. Judai nodded slowly, eyes gazing over the crew again. All of Yusei's friends were all different, Judai thought, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. Ah, there it was. The brunette felt himself growing  tired, after all the battle was over and he had used a lot of his powers back in Venice. Though, he wasn't exactly sure on where he'd be staying. Judai had forgotten to look for a safe looking park or bridge. Then again, he could probably fall asleep just about anywhere. Again, a voice called him out of his thoughts on where would be the best place to stay, and Judai looked over to Yusei, who was holding a door open. "Are you coming?" He asked and Judai blinked, not expecting to be invited in. He hadn't expected that. Throwing up a smile, the brunette walked in and all but threw himself on the couch. The fusion duelist looked around before settling his eyes on Yusei.  
        "Thanks!" He called out, though for what he wasn't sure. Thanks for letting him inside? Thanks for the help with Paradox? Thanks for going along with his stupid request? The list went on. ' _ **Thanks for letting me run away from my problems, maybe**?_' Yubel said, and Judai had to resist rolling his eyes. ' _It's not running away from my problems, it's... its taking a break!'_ He replied to them, holding back a dumb grin at their exasperated yet fond sigh.  After a second, the two kids were also seated on the couch and Judai grinned at them, looking at Rua who was staring back. Within another second, the two were in a staring contest.   
        Vaguely, he heard Ruka sigh from the other end of the couch, mumbling, "Boys..." Though, he was a little preoccupied with winning the staring contest.   
        It took a minute for Judai to take pity on Rua and threw himself back against the couch, covering his eyes as he yelled, "I can't do it anymore!  You win! You win!" He laughed, and soon the green haired boy laughing with him. While Judai would never throw a game of Duel Monsters, a staring contest was wholly different. After all, he was part monster. They still needed to blink, just not as often. Plus, with the amount of hours he'd spend over his deck, Judai had been training himself not to blink unintentionally. After Rua was done laughing, he rubbed at his eyes and grinned up at Judai.  
        "So- So-!! When are we going to duel?" He asked excitedly, and the brunette was oh so tired but the way his eyes shone reminded himself of well, himself (his younger self, of course. his love for dueling was still there yet his eyes were dull and lifeless. he rarely had fun dueling-if he even dueled at all. it was kind of hard to find a dueling partner when youre in the middle off bumfuck nowhere) and it was too hard to say no. In a second, Rua had his cards out. They were going to do a normal table duel, after all, a living room really wasn't the prime place for a duel and Judai suspected that no one would want him just running off with the child.  So, they set up on the table and drew their five starting cards.  
        "DUEL!"

* * *

        Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Aki had been standing in the small kitchen when all the pandemonium was happening in the living room. Jack had his arms crossed over his chest and he glared at Yusei. "Explain."  
        "After I went back into the past, he was being attacked by that Paradox guy," He started, eyes running over all of his friends. "I saved Judai from him and then he disappeared, to go further into the past. Judai and I then followed him, saved Yugi Mutou, then dueled him. We won," Yusei said bluntly, leaving out most details as they were not very important to this very moment. The others just stared at him.  
        "That doesn't explain why he's here."  
        "Well, I..." He didn't really know  _how_ to explain why he'd brought Judai to the future. He'd sounded so  _sad_ and  _broken_  in that moment, and Yusei knew the whole time that his hyperactive, energetic, and happy persona was an act, or at least it was exaggerated. The synchro duelist saw so much sadness in Judai's eyes and he couldn't say no. Especially when said brunette's  _arms were wrapped around his torso so tightly and he was way too aware of the body behind him--_ BUT that's neither here nor there! "I think... something happened to him, and he just needed an escape. I couldn't say no," He explained quietly, moving to cross his own arms over his chest, tapping his foot with slight irritation at the fact that he himself couldn't come up with a solid reason on  _why._  
        "Where is he going to stay? What about identification? Don't you know that someone's going to realize that he's been missing, right? And then what are they going to think when he pops up however many years later, and he hasn't aged?," Jack spoke, tone sharp. "Did you ever even think?"  
        "One, here. Two, well. We'll figure it out. I think I know someone who could help. Three and four, we'll get there when we get there," Yusei shot back, his eyes narrowing. He went to open his mouth when rampant laughter came from the main room. The two of them looked at each other, the raven haired duelist's face softening. Rua liked him, apparently. Then came the badgering for a duel, and then the child's excited voice when Judai had accepted. "We can continue this talk later, we should watch," Yusei said, effectively yeeting from the conversation and walked back to the main room.   
        "DUEL!" Both boys called out, Judai staring down at his cards with an almost sullen expression for a second before his excited face was back. Yusei glanced at the others, who seemed to have seen it as well. They decided Rua was going first.   
        After a while of Judai trying to give Rua a chance, he summoned out Flame Wingman and Neos to hit the finishing blows. After his life points hit 0, Rua looked both sad and almost starstruck. The brunette grinned and did his signature move, calling out, "Gotcha!" They all stood in silence before Judai looked up at the ceiling and broke the silence. "Y'know, I still have no idea how Synchro Summoning works," He spoke, folding his arms behind his head.  
        "H-How do you not know how to Synchro Summon?!" Rua called out, realizing that Judai had in fact, beaten him without using Synchro Summoning.  
        "I told you, I'm from the past. Didn't you read the last chapter?" Judai waved his hand in the air as he spoke.  
        "What?" Rua blinked at him, not sure what he really meant at all. Both green haired twins were confused, both having thought his  _"I'm a stowaway from the past!"_ joke was that, a joke.  
        "What?" Judai replied back, even returning the blink as his grin grew mischievous.


	4. her suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> children talk about their powers. one is.. not so happy.

        It had taken a bit to calm down the chaos that sparked after his comment. Judai really had no idea what the new dueling rules were, what the everloving fuck a synchro summon was, or anything about the future. They talked about his situation for a bit, Judai giving minimal details about where he had come from and who he actually was, and was covering it up with jokes and a smile. It was always easier to be more cheerful when there was a group around him. He was always best at pretending to be Judai then. "Let's not bombard him with questions, there's always time to ask him later," Yusei piped up, always the voice of reason. Judai sent a smile his way, stretching his arms above him and suppressing a yawn. The brunette was so tired. He'd defeated a villain, went through time more than once, got to meet Yugi Mutou in his prime (well, not that he hadn't already done that, but...), and had met all of Yusei's friends. His social energy meter was low. His  _energy_ meter was low. When was the last time he had eaten, anyway? He'd forgotten. It didn't really matter. What did matter though, was finding a place to stay. He had no money on him, which, wasn't really any different than usual. Judai shoved his hands in his pockets. He yawned, eyes watering. Though, he quickly wiped his eyes. "Tired?" Yusei asked and Judai shook his head.  
        "Nah!" It was a complete lie, however he did not want to stop the fun they were all having. Yusei gave him a look that screamed disbelief before they both were thrown back into the conversation by Aki.  
        "I don't mean to pry, but, earlier you said you were a psychic duelist..?" She trailed off, an arm crossed over her chest and other anxiously twirling her a strand of magenta hair around her finger. Judai smiled and nodded.  
        "Yeah!  Well, back in my time they didn't really call them psychic duelists, nor are they common, but you can consider me one!" He said, moving to sit back down on the couch.  
        "Do you mind if I ask a few questions about it..?"   
        "Sure!" He didn't really mind, though, he'd probably omit a few details about Yubel and his time in the other dimension... it was still kind of a sore subject, despite the years it had been since then. In a way, he felt stupid about the fact that he was not over it yet, and felt guilty about everything that had happened. It was all Judai's fault, after all. ' ** _It is not all your fault, Judai. It is mine._** ' Yubel spoke from in his mind, breaking him out of whatever spiral he was about to go on. He did not answer them, but instead kept looking at Aki.   
        "When did your powers first manifest?"  
        "Well! My powers didn't fully develop until maybe a year ago, I think? Maybe a year and a half?" He caught the look of surprise from Aki, but continued, "However, I was always able to see and hear the spirits of the cards, which is a part of my powers. I don't really remember when I started hearing them, though." The brunette explained, tapping on his chin.  
        "You can see duel spirits?! I can too!" Ruka pipes up from his left, shocked and excited at the same time. Judai blinked, not having known that she could see them as well.  
        "Yeah!" Judai grinned, and with a soft  _kuriii..._  Hane Kuriboh plopped on his head, looking down at Ruka. It was weird, because Judai could only somewhat feel Hane Kuriboh but also could. Ruka gasped, pointing to his head.  
        "He looks just like Kuribon!" At the call of her name, Kuribon pops up on Ruka's shoulder, tail wrapping around her neck gently. Ruka giggled, "Kuribon! That tickles!" Everyone else was looking at them, only slightly weirdly. They were kind of used to it. Judai catches a frown and an eye-roll from Rua. There had to be a story behind that one. After all, it seemed like Rua only held love for his twin sister. Though, most siblings didn't get along fully. He saw Aki lay a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. They shared a look and the two smiled at each other softly. Judai would ask later. That's when Judai realized.  
        "Ah! Sorry, Aki, we got side-tracked! What else do you want to ask?" Ruka blinks, before looking at Aki as well.  
        "Sorry, Aki-nee!" Ruka echoed. The teen smiled and waved her hand, picking it up off of Rua's shoulder. Ruka hadn't noticed it was on his shoulder at all, Judai noticed. Or she did, and she didn't comment.   
        "It's alright, you two. Are you in control of your powers?" Aki asked, arm still tucked across her chest, fingers anxiously curling into her side. Judai nodded, gently petting Hane Kuriboh's fur. "What? I only recently was able to start controlling them..." She said, trailing off at the end. Judai blinked.  
        "Oh.. Well we might just have a difference in powers! Yours are probably really powerful!" He laughed, full well knowing that the reason that he was able to awaken and use his powers because of Yubel and Haou. Aki probably was able to broaden her powers naturally. She didn't look like she believed him. She was frowning now as she asked her next question.  
        "Can you summon your monsters?" Judai really could have answered her normally, with a nod or with just a 'yes', but, of course he was extra as all hell. So, he closed his eyes and suddenly, Hane Kuriboh was actually sitting on his lap. Rua blinked, jumping back slightly.           
        "Is that...?" He asked, taking a step forward, looking down at the furry creature sitting in the room like he had always belonged there.   
        " _Kuriii!!!"_ Hane Kuriboh trilled, floating up to nuzzle Judai's cheek.  
        Judai turned to Aki, "Yeah I can, see!"  
        "Without a duel disk?" Aki asked, her eyebrows raising in both surprise and bewilderment. The brunette bit down on his lip.  
        "Well, yeah, but it's easier since Hane Kuriboh here," He paused to gently ruffle the fur ball, "was my first partner! Like, ah," The brunette then turned to Ruka. "Can I borrow Kuribon's card?" He asked, and she stared at him quizzically before handing the card over slowly. Judai held up his arm-that still had the duel disk attached. Would he ever take it off?- and placed the card on top. Closing his eyes, he tapped into Haou's powers, feeling the familiar comforting yet cold feeling of the gentle darkness. "It, It takes more energy to summon spirits that I do not have a bond with." Which was true, but it shouldn't be so hard for him. However, due to the fight with Paradox, he was exhausted. Kuribon appeared in midair, flying around Ruka's head before landing on her shoulder. Said green haired girl squeaked and nuzzled her beloved companion. Judai smiled, giving them their moment before removing the card off of his duel disk. Finally he was able to open his eyes, not wanting to scare them with bright golden eyes. "See?" However, Aki's expression looked anything but pleased. Judai folded his hands behind his head to hide his trembling fingers and smiled. Her eyes narrowed as she grabbed Yusei by the elbow and dragged him into the kitchen. Kuriboh, who was still summoned, cuddled into his side, trilling softly to try and calm the brunette down. He simply smiled, ruffling his fur before desummoning him. It looked like Aki did not like him. While it always was a possibility that Yusei's friends wouldn't like him, he wished it didn't have to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thinking emoji


End file.
